This is our only Home. We want to engage society actively and constructively. Only by asking the right questions can we arrive at the correct answers.
There is no need for fear as we are only doing what we must. To be apathetic is to be selfish and derelict in our duty to our children and our children's children!
Huang Shoou Chyuan

WE REFER to the letters last Tuesday by Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan and Mr Kevin Kwek ('Ex-maid's dreams dashed').

We limit the number of years that work permit holders are allowed to work here, to ensure that employers do not become overdependent on low-cost foreign manpower and that lower-skilled foreign workers do not sink roots in Singapore.

Miss Jourgina Dagoplo's work permit was not renewed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) as she had reached the maximum employment period of 18 years.

For employees who qualify for higher work pass types such as the S Pass or Employment Pass, their employers may apply to upgrade them to such passes, which are not subject to the maximum employment period.

MOM had informed Miss Dagoplo's employer earlier that it could consider upgrading her to an S Pass provided that her salary meets the S Pass criteria. However, the employer had not done so when her work permit expired.

Friday, November 05, 2010

To those in Boy’s Brigade and Gymnastics, his influence was understandable and obvious as he was the Captain of BB and the teacher who built a very competitive gym team from scratch.

However to the rest of us who were in neither, his stamp of authority is less easily explained.

Perhaps to many of us, he was the father figure that we hoped for, or the older brother we wished we had. Someone who leads from the front but is also waiting at the back to ensure none of us were left behind!

In the mid-70’s, ACS was in apparent decline and had suffered public humiliations when political leaders seemed to stand in line to castigate us and even labeled us as a “Snob” school. The hurt, though deep, was short-lived and Mr. Ong was there to galvanize us to believe in ourselves and to achieve what we did not know was possible.

Not all of us were academically inclined, but that was not important. We were ACSians.

We remember with fondness Mr. Ong’s innovative methods of punishments. I do not think MOE would have approved many of them… but they worked.

When I "Google(d)" Gina's name, I was surprised that in 2005, she was a "cause celebre"and was sort of a showcase of what a land of opportunity Singapore was and everyone in the official and alternative media was head over heals about her "rags to riches" story then.

Cheers,

Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan

The published letter to the ST Forum (2nd Nov 2010):

I WAS shocked to read about a former maid whose dreams were dashed on the rocks of a rigid bureaucracy ('Ex-maid with new job runs out of time'; last Saturday). It is like a fairy tale with an unhappy ending.

Miss Jourgina Dagoplo arrived on our shores as a maid in 1992. She studied hard on her days off (Sundays) and graduated in 2005 from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) with a certificate in electronics, and that landed her a job at IT giant IBM, where she was promoted to senior technician and earned $1,200 a month when she left.

Five years into her job, she was asked to go home by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), all because of a rule which stipulates that a skilled worker on a work permit pass can work here only for a maximum of 18 years - not a day longer, no matter what. Now she is back in the Philippines working as a maid for $5 a day.

IBM had found her to be a 'good performer' and after failing to renew her work permit, had appealed twice to MOM but to no avail.

The irony is that Miss Dagoplo was already doing a part-time diploma course which would have helped her case for staying on here.

Miss Dagoplo is the type of worker that we need more of in our economy - someone who is hungry, ready to take on challenges and not prepared to accept as fate what life dished out to her.

Instead of asking her to leave, the authorities should have offered her a citizenship to reward her for her tenacity and to signal to others that we are a meritocratic society that looks beyond your background and so long as you can contribute to Singapore, you are in. The authorities should review her case and welcome her back to Singapore.

About Me

I am a doctor.
Everyone,even doctors,has a say in how Singapore is run. (But saying is one thing and getting someone to listen is something else).
For the sake of society, someone has to push the boundaries and seek out the OB (Out-of-bound) markers. So why not me (or is it I)?
About comments:
While you are free to post your comments here, your comments do not represent my views. In the event that any of your postings are deemed to be offensive or unsuitable for public viewing, as the author of this blog, I reserve the right to remove them.
I am contactable at nofearsingapore@gmail.com